I was meant to be the start of a decadent French dinner at a favourite restaurant with my husband. We had been served bread while delighting over the menu selection. I was definitely going for the foie gras (which I love) and was heading toward the lamb (just about the only red meat I eat apart from foie gras), after putting aside the lobster option that I always choose.

Slipping a nicely buttered soft morsel of bread in my mouth, I chewed, savouring the taste. Then it happened. I was disgusted. I felt a chunk of something in my mouth. No way!!! What was in the bread? YUK!!

I spat it out to see what monstrosity the chef had cooked in the bread, only to find what looked like part of a tooth. The cold realisation of this being my tooth suddenly hit me as I felt my teeth with my tongue to discover a gaping spot on my right back inside lower molar.

Panic set in as I anticipated immediate pain from exposed nerves. Disappointment followed... now my dinner plans were ruined and any thoughts of indulging in decadence for the evening were being quickly swept away.

I sat expecting the worst, having never in my life chipped or broken a tooth. My husband, on the other hand is a pro at this, having at least twice since I've known him, broken a tooth eating... yes... bread! He insisted that the filling in my tooth was no doubt protecting my nerves and that all should be ok and we could find an emergency dentist on Sunday. After some hesitation, I began to agree with him. Even though I felt like I had a gaping hole in my tooth because of the sensitivity of my tongue, in fact, all was well.

However, to be on the safe side, I changed my order from lamb (possibly stringy fibres getting caught near the broken tooth) to my lobster favourite which was softer. I tested the cold water for further sensitivity, but there was nothing. Yay! So we ordered our wine and enjoyed our meal, our cheese plate (no more bread though, thanks!), dessert and expresso. I was so happy there was no pain, but I admit, I did most of my chewing on the left side of the mouth, just in case.

THE MIRACLE is that despite the inside entire quarter of my molar breaking off, there was, and still is, no pain. My mother had very bad teeth with cracks and that were almost translucent greying enamel. One of my recurring disturbing dreams is about my teeth being shaky and falling out. I do dream work so I am aware of the ways to interpret this and no doubt need to investigate the symbolism of a broken tooth with no pain further. Ironically, just before it happened, I had been lamenting to my husband that I needed to stop eating so much bread (wheat) because I didn't think it was very good for my digestion (or weight).

The bottom line is that this expectation of the worst never materialised. What could that signify (other than a very clear sign to stop eating so much bread), I wonder?

The other realisation that came out of this, was the miracle of the tongue. It is truly a sensitive part of the body, giving us the pleasure of tasting so many different flavours. It can tell us about illness in the body (see diagram). When there is something amiss in our mouth, such as an ulcer or cracked tooth, the tongue acts like a magnifying glass for us to know something is not right in the mouth by making it feel much bigger than it is. And we definitely need our tongue for speaking.

In the end, I didn't have to rush to an emergency dentist on Sunday. Later today I see my normal dentist.. and that may be more uncomfortable that the tooth cracking!

Officially this miracle happened October 31, but, as parts of the world was already into November 1st, I am counting this as a November miracle. LOL!